Moor Anticipation
by mrspencil
Summary: 3:Moor Fear: Neither soldier nor physician had dealt with anything like this before. Written, with best wishes, for johnsarmylady.
1. Moor Anticipation

_A/N: I have a particular fascination for Dartmoor and the "Hound of the Baskervilles" and cannot really imagine the Sherlock series not referring to the story in one way or another..._

_This is for The Wolf's Shadow, who nudged me back in this direction once moor:-)_

_Sherlock and companions do not belong to me._

* * *

><p><strong>Moor Anticipation<strong>

* * *

><p><em>The mire won't tell what end befell those souls who haunt the moor;<em>

_And foot prints made, in time will fade, till all is as before..._

* * *

><p>One hundred years, and more, have passed;<p>

The world, it seems, moves on;

And all who faced that time,

Of hound and ancient curse, are gone.

~o~

But as each path and age old track

Is lost to tourist trail;

Still lonely bitterns boom

And mires and windswept tors prevail.

~o~

Though pen and ink and note-filled books

Give way to screen and blog;

The stark grey prison walls remain

Through sun and rain and fog.

~o~

And if the thin veneer of moorland

Peace and calm should crack,

And echoes of that hound return;

Will fate call Sherlock back?

~o~

End

* * *

><p><em>an2:__The first two lines are the end of a poem I posted in the SH book section of the site,( in Moor Verse). I would encourage you to have a look at the last few chapters, as they consist of poems written by a group of writers including Catherine Spark ( hippopotamus of the Baskervilles; anyone?), AdidasandPie, Lemon Zinger (Less Hound)goldvermilion87, HadesLordoftheDead, sagredo, The Wolf's Shadow, Kiki Cabou, Ellerina Star and Nytd. If anyone would like to contribute to a similar moor-themed Sherlock collection of poems; I would love to hear from you:-) The moor the merrier!_

_MrsP:)_


	2. Moor Familiar

_a/n: I neither own nor make any profit from BBC Sherlock._

_a fic, from Dartmoor with best wishes, for jack63kids :-)_

_contains spoilers for BBC and ACD Baskerville Hound tales_

* * *

><p><strong>Moor Familiar<strong>

* * *

><p>An atmospheric setting<p>

For a case, and not forgetting

The legends told of dreadful deeds so many years before.

A lonely research station

Holds, perhaps, more information

On events which seem to resonate beyond the windswept moor.

When this new adventure beckoned,

Did they wonder for a second,

In whose footsteps they were following; the centuries they spanned?

When they travelled there together

And the moorland, thick with heather,

Rose up above the sleeping farms; a wild and untamed land.

~0~

No servants there to greet them,

Just an army guard to meet them;

A set of modern buildings, not an ancient granite hall.

No mires to bar their way,

A minefield kept at bay

Those uninvited guests who, unexpectedly, might call.

Two time-split tales converging,

With more common threads emerging;

As names which link the past and present gradually appear;

And at both stories' heart,

A family ripped apart

By grave misfortune, strange events and paralyzing fear.

~0~

An inn, not ancient hut,

Is used as shelter, but

Deceit and subterfuge still play a part;

The doctor, left alone,

Sees demons of his own;

His friend employs his brain, ignores his heart.

And on the darkening moor;

Events move, as before,

As doctor and detective rush to save a troubled heir.

More parallels between

Each mist-wreathed final scene,

As Grimpen claims another soul who hoped for refuge there.

~0~

The modern explanation,

Is a drugged hallucination,

No hint of wicked ancestors or vengeful kin is found;

But neither moorland mystery

Would find a place in history,

Without a set of footprints and the words, "Gigantic hound!"

~0~


	3. Moor Fear

_A/N: A birthday fic for the utterly wonderful johnsarmylady. _

_Prompt...hound of the Baskervilles._

_Words...petrified, shivering, phosphorescent._

_I do not own Sherlock and friends._

* * *

><p><strong>Moor Fear<strong>

* * *

><p>The practical,<p>

Calm,

Unsuspecting

Physician

Has found the lab door

Unresponsive;

Locked shut.

Nothing apart from white tiles

And smooth benches;

Nobody here

In the room

With him,

But...

~0~

Skittering sounds

From a far hidden corner;

Soft and low growling,

Approaching too near.

The room is now full

Of dim light

And dark shadows,

And skin-pricking tension,

And something

To fear...

~0~

A single brief

Petrified glance

Brings no comfort;

No safely lit exit,

No easy way out.

The erstwhile unflappable

Dauntless ex-soldier

Is filled with a sharp,

All-pervading

Self-doubt.

~0~

The light from the torch,

Held in shivering fingers,

Defines fearful contours

He'd rather not see

As shapes flicker past

On each surface before him;

A hint of whatever

Dark demon

Might be.

~0~

One hope,

One small chance

To escape from what stalks him;

A cage draped in sheeting

With unsecured lock.

He stumbles towards it,

Propelled by pure instinct

As reason gives way

To cold panic

And shock.

~0~

Closer and closer behind

Is the hunter;

Relentless, unstoppable,

Hot on his heels.

He dives through the door

And secures the bolt quickly;

Aware how a helpless

Prey animal

Feels.

~0~

What now?

He tries hard

To regain his composure,

To settle the rush

High adrenalin brings.

He's trapped and alone

With a still-prowling monster.

A noise,

Unexpected;

His mobile phone rings.

~0~

He knows who has called him;

He whispers an answer;

Distracted by breathing

And movement close by.

Vague glimpses through cotton

Of something unearthly,

A hand to his mouth

To suppress

Any cry.

~0~

He peers through the gloom

At the hound;

He can hear it;

A hunger-filled howl

And an echoing tread.

And now,

He can see it;

A faint phosphorescence,

Each hair on its body,

Its eyes glowing red.

~0~

Then...

Everything changes;

His refuge uncovered;

The room bathed

In harsh

Unforgiving

White light.

He's dazzled and dazed

At the swift transformation

His heart rate increases

All muscles tense tight.

~0~

He blinks and looks round,

Quite bewildered and shaken;

All signs of his

Dreadful encounter

Have gone.

He listens, bemused

To his friend's explanation

Of what his ordeal

Had depended upon.

~0~

No spectre,

No monster,

No gigantic hound;

It's only

In nightmares

Such creatures

Are found

~0~


End file.
